


Beginning of the End/End of the Beginning

by stardust_20



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Lash's identity, Spoilers, Spoilers for episode 3.06, spoilers for episode 3.07
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-09
Updated: 2015-11-09
Packaged: 2018-04-30 20:36:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5178728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stardust_20/pseuds/stardust_20
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>May tells Coulson and Rosalind who Lash really is, and then faces him and lets him know she knows.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beginning of the End/End of the Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> SPOILERS! If you haven't watched episode 3.06 or been spoiled as to Lash's identity, don't read this! This is my take on how May breaks the news to Coulson, how she fights to protect Lash, and what happens when they confront one another. I've also taken dialogue directly from one of the sneak peek previews of the confrontation between May and Lash, though I haven't used all of it, and have paraphrased some of it. 
> 
> This all belongs to someone else - Disney, Marvel, whomever. I make no money writing this, just having fun speculating as to scenes we may or may not see and sharing my take on what May is going to do with this new knowledge.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

“You have got to be kidding me.” Coulson’s eyes stared grimly at the screen where May’s carefully controlled face looked back at him. Underneath the mask her eyes were dark and haggard; months of hurt and self-doubt had eaten away at her and this new, devastating piece of information had drawn all the colour out of her olive skin.

“I wish I was. The Von Strucker kid was absolutely terrified when I asked about Andrew. He _saw_ him change, Phil.” She swallowed. “I don’t want to believe it either, but all the evidence I’ve been digging up about Andrew’s whereabouts … “

“We need to lock down the base. Keep him here.”

Bobbi, leaning over May’s shoulder, shook her head. “No. You’re safe as long as he doesn’t think you know his secret. You know how dangerous he is. If he thinks you know, he might just go on a rampage and escape.”

“Bobbi’s right. Keep a close eye on him until we get back. Give him something to do that’ll keep him busy. And whatever you do, don’t tell anyone else. No one can treat him any differently than usual or he’ll suspect.”

“And then? When you get back?”

May’s face hardened. “I need to talk to him.”

“Do you really think that’s a good idea?”

“He won’t hurt me.”

“Are you sure about that?” Coulson’s eyebrow rose.

May shrugged. “How can I be sure of anything these days? All I know is he has more of a connection to me than to any of you. He has feelings for me still, that might stop him from doing anything violent.”

“Might.”

May looked back sharply at Bobbi’s tone. “I have to try. What would you do if it was Hunter?”

The blonde woman nodded, empathy softening her face. 

“Get back as fast as you can.” Coulson’s face disappeared as the screen went dark.

May stood up. “It’s not like he built this thing for speed. Now if we were in one of the ‘jets … “

~ ~ ~ 

“You have got to be kidding me.”

Coulson looked over at Rosalind with something approaching amusement despite the grim situation. “That’s exactly what I said.”

“Lash is hiding among you while you’re out searching for him. That’s rich.”

May bristled at her tone. _“We_ thought he was one of yours. He could have been anyone. It makes sense that he’s with SHIELD. Inside information goes a long way when you’re hunting people.”

“So we catch him off guard, take him down and store him at our facility. That’ll stop the killing for good.”

“No. I want to talk to him.”

Rosalind’s face darkened as she turned to face May. “You really are joking, aren’t you? We have the opportunity to take him out of the game, _by surprise_ , with no casualties, and you’d rather waltz in there and tell him we know his secret? Just how crazy are you?”

“Ros - “ Coulson held up a placating hand. “May and Andrew have a history, and - “

“I know, I know,” she interrupted. “The ex-husband. Stress on the ‘ex’. I’ve done my research.”

“It’s not over between us,” May said in the quiet, deadly voice Coulson knew preceded a violent storm. He braced for it. “We were back together before … “ She choked the words out. “He changed. We have unfinished business.”

“Screw unfinished business. Put it behind you and move on. No personal feelings can get in the way of doing the job.”

“What happened to that humanity you said you were trying to hold onto?” Coulson murmured.

Her eyes slid back to him. “There’s humanity and then there’s just stupidity. I can’t tolerate the latter.”

May stepped forward, right into Rosalind’s personal space. “If you want him, you’re going to have to go through me to get him.”

“Is that a threat?”

May’s eyes narrowed. “Andrew is one of us. He didn’t choose this path and he doesn’t deserve to be treated as a common criminal.”

Coulson touched both women’s arms. “Ladies, please. May, take Andrew to the conference room to talk. We have cameras there and I’ll post armed guards at the door so you’ll have backup in case things get ugly. Ros … it’s time to sit back and watch how this plays out. We’ll put your plan into action if necessary, but I want to try diplomacy first. If Andrew were advising me on how to deal with this situation he’d stress that before we _do_ anything we have to talk to him and find out his side of the story. He would never agree to writing someone off without even trying to understand. It’s only fair to him to do it his way.”

“And Agent May is the most diplomatic person for the job.” Sarcasm dripped from her voice. 

“I’m the person closest to him,” May growled. “He’s more likely to talk to me than you.”

“She’s right.” Coulson met May’s eyes. “Good luck. Rosalind, come with me.”

~ ~ ~ 

“Talk to me, Melinda. What’s this all about?”

“I need to know Andrew. For myself. Before anyone else gets involved.”

“What are you talking about?”

She faced him squarely, trying desperately to hang onto the mask. “I know your secret.”

“Secret?” He shrugged, feigning confusion. “What secret?”

“The von Strucker kid didn’t die in that explosion.” A flicker of emotion - fear? - crossed his face and her heart cracked wide open. “He told me what you did.”

“What I did. So some _kid_ said that I - “

“He wasn’t lying,” she interrupted, voice raising. “The look on his face was pure terror. What happened to you?” Emotion darkened her face. “You can tell me.”

“Melinda - “

“Don’t lie to me.”

“You don’t want to know.” He turned his back to her and walked away.

“He said you were a monster.”

“Melinda, don’t - “

She pushed harder. “How could this even happen?”

The anger in his voice was bubbling over. “Melinda stop.”

“Andrew, please,” she beseeched. “Please - ”

He whipped around and pulled a gun on her. “Stop!”

Silence fell as they faced each other down.

“I told you you didn’t want to know.” His voice dropped to a near whisper.

“So this is how it is? You feel you can’t confide in me? I thought we were rebuilding our relationship. Trust. Honesty. No more hiding from one another.”

“Would you have understood?” he demanded. “The first time I changed … I saw myself in the mirror. Alex was right, I am a monster. We’re all monsters. We’re not human anymore.”

“Yes you are.” May walked forward two steps until she could almost feel the cool steel of the gun at her forehead.

“No we’re not! We’re freaks, Melinda. We don’t deserve to live.”

“Andrew, please. Put the gun down. We can talk about this.”

His arm straightened and the butt of the gun touched her skin. “There won’t be any talk. You know that as well as I do. They’ll lock me up and throw away the key. That is if they don’t decide to just kill me.” He looked around the room, eyes finding the camera. “I know you’re watching, Phil. You let me walk or I kill her and whomever else I have to to get away.”

“No.” May straightened. “You won’t kill anyone else. I won’t let you.”

“You’re good but even you can’t stop me.”

She searched his eyes. “Andrew, please. Stand down or you’re going to have to kill me.”

“Do you think I won’t?”

“I hope you don’t.” Her voice was low but charged with emotion. “I wouldn’t wish that kind of pain on anyone.” She swallowed hard. “You remember how hard it was for me, dealing with killing a little girl I didn’t even know? I know you still love me Drew. Don’t do this. Please. Don’t hurt both of us.”

“Melinda - “

Her eyes filled with tears and she blinked rapidly. “If you kill me they won’t let you live,” she whispered. “You know they’re waiting for you outside. If you put the gun down we can both walk out of here. You won’t be free but you’ll be alive, and so will I.” Andrew drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, sadness darkening his eyes. “Don’t end it for both of us, Drew. Let us help you. Together we can fix this.”

His arm wavered but several seconds later dropped. May reached out slowly and took the gun from him, dropping it behind her. Then she slowly reached back out to him, hand open, palm up. “Whatever else you’ve become, you’re still Andrew Garner. Still the man I love.” A single tear tracked down her cheek. “I’m with you. We can get through this. Together.”

As if in slow motion, he reached out and took her hand, clasping it tightly and swallowing hard, eyes never leaving hers.

She looked up at the camera. “Phil.” Four agents came into the room and surrounded them. “Go with them quietly and I promise no one will hurt you.”

“Is that promise yours to make?”

“My word.” She squeezed his hand. “If they want you, they’re going to have to face The Cavalry to get to you. They know better than to take that route.”

He walked silently between the guards, eyes holding hers until they left the room. May stood motionless in the empty room, still heavy with emotion, the pounding of her heart masking the approaching footsteps.

“That was ballsy.”

Her eyes shifted to meet Coulson’s. “Never let it be said I don’t have balls just because I’m a woman.”

“May.” The sadness on his face as he spoke broke her, but he knew her well, even despite the rift between them, and stepped forward to put his arms around her as the dam broke and she wept.

_~ fin ~_


End file.
